Baton Rouge council to consider special election for 10-year police-tax renewal
The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council is scheduled to consider whether to order a Dec. 12, 2026, special election on renewing a 0.87-mill property-tax levy dedicated to the Baton Rouge Police Department’s three-platoon system.
The proposal is at the council-consideration stage. The published notice identifies the item for consideration, but does not report a council vote. The tax question would not be placed before voters unless council members adopt the resolution ordering the election.
What the proposed ballot measure would do
The proposed levy would apply to taxable property within the City of Baton Rouge. The notice describes the measure as a renewal, not as a tax increase.
If ordered by the council and approved by voters, the renewal would run for 10 years. Collections would begin in 2028 and continue through 2037, according to the public notice.
The stated purpose is to fund a three-platoon police system in the city Police Department. The proposal therefore concerns dedicated local tax funding for that system, rather than a completed funding decision.
The proposed rate is 0.87 mills. The available materials do not provide an estimated annual tax bill for individual property owners, so the property-specific cost of the proposed renewal cannot be determined from the notice.
Council action is the next procedural step
The council meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. It is set for Baton Rouge City Hall, 222 St. Louis St.
The Metropolitan Council is the legislative branch of the combined City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish government. Its pending decision is whether to advance the proposed election, not whether to enact the renewal directly.
Under the proposal, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026, would be the special-election date. That date remains proposed unless the council passes the election-ordering resolution.
What remains undecided
No eventual council vote total is established in the available materials. Nor is there a voter result, because the election has not yet been ordered or held.
The notice also does not establish whether the proposed levy would fully fund police staffing or identify the annual tax impact on particular properties. Those questions are separate from the council’s immediate decision on whether to place the renewal before city voters.
For now, the next known step is the Aug. 12 council consideration. If the resolution is adopted, voters would then decide whether to authorize the proposed 10-year renewal for collections from 2028 through 2037.
Sources
- Public notice: Metropolitan Council special-election and police-tax item, The Advocate public notices
- Metropolitan Council, City-Parish of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish
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